Oilers rookie review 2003-04

The Edmonton Oilers had six of theirrookies in their line up at different points this season, some making their NHLdebuts while others established themselves as bonifide major leaguers.

Marc-Andre Bergeron(54GP – 9G – 17A – 26PTS – +13)

Bergeron made the team out of trainingcamp but he really made strides in the second half of the season after atemporary demotion to the AHL.It wasobvious from the outset of the schedule that the Oilers were relying heavily onBergeron’s power play abilities to outweigh his lack of NHL experience andpotential defensive lapses.

After a handful of games though, Bergeronwas forced to watch a series of contests, which was a bit discouraging for therookie.

“For sure it’s always tough to watch fromupstairs but I’m in the process right now as a first year player and Iunderstand my role,” said Bergeron at the time.“I have to improve on the ice every time I can and I can’t takeanything for granted, if I start to do that I’ll be in the stands all thetime.”

It wouldn’t take long for the Quebecnative to work his way back into the line up but he still struggled noticeablyat times including during a game against the veteran laden Detroit Red Wings.

“Bergy was a guy who got a lot of pucksknocked down and it’s a good lesson for him,” said head coach Craig MacTavishafter tying Detroit.“He played in theOT because, well… he can make plays you know?You don’t want to take that out of his game but when you’re in ahole… stop digging!We need some highrisk guys back there that can make plays, we’ve got to have some guys that cando it but a little common sense back there when things are going bad isvaluable.”

Unfortunately for Bergeron he continuedto struggle and was reassigned to the AHL in the early part of 2004.Bergeron played 17 games for the AHL TorontoRoadrunners before he was brought back by Edmonton and his season really tookoff from there.

“Idon’t mind that I went down there because I got to play a lot of hockey,”Bergeron recalled after the season.“There was a lot of pressure here and it was hard on everyone but goingdown there was a little cooler, so when I came back up I was ready toplay.I had some tough times this yearbut the good thing is that I found a way to get back on track and get backplaying.”

Hecertainly did that.In fact, Bergeron’ssecond half performance was so strong statistically and impacted the team sopositively that he should realistically garner attention when it comes time tonaming the rookie all-star teams.

Bergeron’s26 points was third in the league for rookie blueliners in scoring behind onlyJohn-Michael Liles (34) and Joni Pitkanen (27).Considering Bergeron played 17 fewer games than Pitkanen and 25less than Liles yet averaged more ice time than both, a convincingargument could certainly be made on his behalf.

Thenagain, personal recognition is not where it is at for Bergeron.

“Theoverall picture is that I played a lot of good hockey when it was crunch timeand that’s something I’m proud of,” said the 23-year-old.“I wanted to help my team win and that’swhat I did.”

Bergeronhad a seven game point-scoring streak in March, the longest of any Oiler thispast season.

“I’veseen a good evolution in myself this year,” Bergeron concluded.“My confidence picked up and I was able toplay a lot of good games back-to-back so now I can see myself being an NHLplayer and I have the confidence to be here every night.Something I’m more proud of than anythingelse is that I’m a good player at both ends of the ice.I look at my plus/minus and last year I was+40 (AHL) and this year I’m like +13 so it’s something I’m really proud of thatmy coach is not afraid to put me on the ice.He knows that I can create something offensively without giving away anydefense and that’s something I’ve gotten better at in my career.”

Marc-AndreBergeron has returned to Quebec where he plans on playing in an annual men’sleague tournament with some of his friends.It’s notable for Bergeron this year because it’s the first time he’sever been able to participate because until now, he’s always been playing inthe playoffs in whatever league he’s been in.

Mike Bishai (14GP – 0G – 2A – 2PTS)

The most unexpected rookie contribution awarddefinitely goes to 24-year-old local product Mike Bishai because he wason no one’s radar at the beginning of the season and yet as Kevin Lowe toldHockey’s Future in March, he’s not an unknown quantity anymore.

“I don’t want to say he came out of nowhere, but ourprojections on him were for a couple of years,” confessed Lowe.“But man, he hasn’t shown us one thing thatsays he can’t play here.”

The Oilers recalled Bishai from the Roadrunners onJanuary 28th and the 5’11” center stayed with the club until theacquisition of Petr Nedved in early March.During that period Bishai played in 14 games and he recorded a pair ofassistsincluding hisfirst NHL point, which came against the LosAngeles Kings on January 31st.

Despite several chances earned from sheerdetermination and hard work, Bishai could not score a goal.In his first game he dug a puck loose fromunder the pads of Chicago’s goaltender and poked the disc into the net but thereferee had prematurely blown the play dead.Bishai may have gone snake bitten in the goal-scoring department but hiseffort was definitely noticed.

“He could have had points in all thegames he’s played so far and that’s a positive thing,” said Lowe inFebruary.“He’s always put points onthe board so clearly he’s a guy with offensive ability.”

But it won’t be his continuous hustle, his terrificwork ethic or his great personality that Oiler fans will remember Bishai forthis year.The image of Bishai throwinga rapid sequence of fists on the dome of Serge Aubin while standing in theAtlanta Thrashers’ bench has been permanently ingrained on the minds of theOiler faithful.

"Ijust ended up in there," said Bishai after the game."Somebody tugged on my sweater andpulled me in or something. I just got up and got going."

Bishaiis hoping to create a whole new array of Oiler memories next year.

Doug Lynch(2GP – 0 PTS)

The former Red Deer Rebel and SpokaneChief was in the middle of his debut season with the Toronto Roadrunners whenhe was recalled briefly by Edmonton on New Year’s Day.Injuries to Jason Smith and Cory Cross necessitatedthe recall of the 21-year-old Vancouver native.

Lynch played his first NHL game on theroad in Minnesota on January 2nd.While Lynch did not register a point in his two-game audition, he didimpress with his physical play.Infact, of all the prospects in the Oiler system, the 6’3” blueliner probably hasthe best chance to graduate to the big club next season.

Jani Rita (2GP – 0PTS)

The enigma that is Jani Rita continued tofrustrate Oiler fans this year.Everysummer the team trumpets Rita as an exceptional prospect to watch for in thecoming season and then every fall he fails to make the team out of camp.It could be as simple a reason as that theleft wing position is too crowded to accommodate Rita but many are beginning tofeel that the Finn simply cannot play the style of game demanded by the Oilercoach.

“Jani we felt would really be in the mixhere so we wanted to give him a good opportunity to play, and we did,”MacTavish explained after cutting Rita from camp.“At the end of the day, he didn’t outplay the guys that he had toin order to stay here.There are a fewthings that he does better than a lot of the guys in this room but there are afew areas where he’s got to improve and then he’ll be here.There’s nothing too great, he’s very closeto playing here and a lot of that is attributable to the depth that we have inthe organization especially at the forward position.”

But when injuries arose and Rita wasrecalled from the AHL, he sat and watched games from the press box.The explanations from the coach and from theGM seemed, at times, to conflict with one another.

“Well time’s running out for him and theorganization as well in terms of us having to give him a shot,” MacTavish saidin late January.“You have to make surethat they’re deserving of it in the way they play and apparently his presencehere is proof that the organization feels that he’s deserving of a shot.We’ve got to make a decision on him and he’sseemingly been at the same stage at this point the last couple or three yearsand we keep expecting him to progress to the point that he’s establishedhimself as an NHL player and this is the first step to that.”

However, when Kevin Lowe comments onRita, it sounds more like he wants to see him given a bigger opportunity inEdmonton.

“He’s a guy that the organizationbelieves has a lot of ability and hasn’t been given the opportunity,” Lowe saidlater that same day.“Like JasonChimera, it took him a few years before he got full time opportunity and Rita’sgoing to get that opportunity.”

In the end, Rita only played two gamesthis season for the Oilers and averaged a miniscule 4:33 in average icetime.However, MacTavish’s comments onFebruary 20th seemed to hint that Rita could have a more certain NHLfuture ahead of him next year.

“Ireally believe he’s reached a level that for him to improve he’s going to haveto come up here and play,” said the coach.

Now isthat an indication of a one-way contract this summer for Rita or is it simplymore of the same propaganda that the Oilers have issued annually on thistopic?

Tony Salmelainen (13GP – 0G – 1A – 1PT)

The human bullet, Tony Salmelainen made his firstappearance in the NHL on October 30th, at home against the ColumbusBlue Jackets.The non-stop hustle ofSalmelainen was an instant hit with the fans of the team and the coaching staffas well.

“I think he’s a guy that has gamebreaking speed, he’s not afraid to take the puck to the net, he can shoot welland we saw a little bit of that in the first game against Columbus,” saidMacTavish.

Salmelainen went back and forth to the AHL a coupleof times during the season but the recall in February would be the last time hewould skate for the Oilers this year.However, if the Finn has another training camp like he did at the startof the past season, it will be hard for the Oilers to send him down again.

“Tony had a great camp, not that we didn’t reallyexpect it,” GM Lowe said.“He’s a guywho we regard very highly and we know he’s going to play in the NHL.”

Jarret Stoll (68GP – 10G – 11A – 21PTS)

Few players climbed the depth chart as much as JarretStoll did in 2003-04.At training camphe was in a struggle with Peter Sarno for the last forward spot and anopportunity to stick with the big club even though he would likely be regulatedto watching more games than he played.Stoll sat for most of October but finally got his chance on the 25thagainst the Calgary Flames, ironically, the team that had originally draftedhim in 2000.

However, Stoll suddenly came down with tonsillitisand was scratched from the line up, thus the reason Sarno was recalled fromToronto.Stoll would miss five gamesbefore returning to action against the Rangers and scoring his first ever NHLgoal.

“The puck sat there and I just spun and shot it andit went in and we came back and won the game, which was even better,” Stollexcitedly recounted at the time.“Itwas exciting and everything I had dreamed about, it was good to get it out ofthe way!”

Once that first goal went in, Stoll began scoring ata regular clip, first in Boston and then soon after in the Heritage Classic.

Injuries to Marty Reasoner and Mike York kept Stollin Edmonton and the rookie began to play on a regular basis.The versatility of Stoll enabled him toplay with a vast array of wingers and in many different situations.At one point he was centering Ethan Moreauand Fern Pisani as Reasoner’s replacement.Later it was the Stoll-Georges Laraque-Jason Chimera trio that wasreally anchoring the team on many nights.It seemed Stoll could do no wrong.

When the Oilers acquired Petr Nedved from New York,Stoll saw his ice time and his offensive opportunities lessened.By the end of the season though, theSaskatchewan-born Stoll had become a fixture on the penalty killing units andwas someone who the coaches trusted in any situation during any game.

“I can see Stoll being a very good NHL player withgreat leadership and great upside who could play anywhere in your line up,”Kevin Lowe told Hockey’s Future in March.

The immergence of Stoll largely filled the defensivehole created by the departure of Todd Marchant last summer.When it came to the trading deadline, therewere a few players in Edmonton who were definitely untouchables and Stoll wasnear the top of that short list of names.